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The Most Famous

ACTORS from Denmark

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This page contains a list of the greatest Danish Actors. The pantheon dataset contains 9,996 Actors, 43 of which were born in Denmark. This makes Denmark the birth place of the 23rd most number of Actors behind Hong Kong and Austria.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Danish Actors of all time. This list of famous Danish Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Danish Actors.

Photo of Anna Karina

1. Anna Karina (1940 - 2019)

With an HPI of 66.92, Anna Karina is the most famous Danish Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 46 different languages on wikipedia.

Anna Karina (born Hanne Karin Blarke Bayer; 22 September 1940 – 14 December 2019) was a Danish-French film actress, director, writer, model, and singer. She was French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard's early collaborator, performing in several of his films, including The Little Soldier (1960), A Woman Is a Woman (1961), My Life to Live (1962), Bande à part (Band of Outsiders; 1964), Pierrot le Fou (1965), and Alphaville (1965). For her performance in A Woman Is a Woman, Karina won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival.In 1972, Karina set up a production company for Vivre ensemble (1973), her directorial debut, which screened in the Critics' Week lineup at the 26th Cannes Film Festival. She also directed the French-Canadian film Victoria (2008). In addition to her work in cinema, she worked as a singer and wrote several novels.Karina was an icon of 1960s cinema, and referred to as the "effervescent free spirit of the French New Wave, with all of the scars that the position entails". The New York Times described her as "one of the screen's great beauties and an enduring symbol of the French New Wave."

Photo of Mads Mikkelsen

2. Mads Mikkelsen (1965 - )

With an HPI of 66.42, Mads Mikkelsen is the 2nd most famous Danish Actor.  His biography has been translated into 58 different languages.

Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen (Danish: [ˈmæs ˈme̝kl̩sn̩] ; born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor, former gymnast and dancer. He rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the Pusher film trilogy (1996, 2004), Detective Sergeant Allan Fischer in the television series Rejseholdet (2000–2004), Niels in Open Hearts (2002), Svend in The Green Butchers (2003), Ivan in Adam's Apples (2005) and Jacob Petersen in After the Wedding (2006). Mikkelsen achieved worldwide recognition for playing the main antagonist Le Chiffre in the twenty-first James Bond film, Casino Royale (2006). His other roles include Igor Stravinsky in Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2008), Johann Friedrich Struensee in A Royal Affair (2012), his Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award-winning performance as Lucas in the Danish film The Hunt (2012), Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the television series Hannibal (2013–2015), Kaecilius in Marvel's Doctor Strange (2016), Galen Erso in Lucasfilm's Rogue One (2016), Cliff Unger in Hideo Kojima's video game Death Stranding (2019), his BAFTA-nominated role as Martin in Another Round (2020), Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) and Dr Jürgen Voller in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023).A. O. Scott of The New York Times remarked that in the Hollywood scene, Mikkelsen has "become a reliable character actor with an intriguing mug" but stated that on the domestic front "he is something else: a star, an axiom, a face of the resurgent Danish cinema".

Photo of Asta Nielsen

3. Asta Nielsen (1881 - 1972)

With an HPI of 62.77, Asta Nielsen is the 3rd most famous Danish Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 55 different languages.

Asta Sofie Amalie Nielsen (11 September 1881 – 24 May 1972) was a Danish silent film actress who was one of the most popular leading ladies of the 1910s and one of the first international movie stars. Seventy of Nielsen's 74 films were made in Germany where she was known simply as Die Asta (The Asta). Known for her large dark eyes, mask-like face and boyish figure, Nielsen most often portrayed strong-willed passionate women trapped by tragic circumstances. Due to the erotic nature of her performances, Nielsen's films were censored in the United States, and her work remained relatively obscure to American audiences. She is credited with transforming movie acting from overt theatricality to a more subtle naturalistic style.Nielsen founded her own film studio in Berlin during the 1920s, but returned to Denmark in 1937 after the rise of Nazism in Germany. A private figure in her later years, Nielsen became a collage artist and an author.

Photo of Erik Bruhn

4. Erik Bruhn (1928 - 1986)

With an HPI of 60.15, Erik Bruhn is the 4th most famous Danish Actor.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Erik Belton Evers Bruhn (3 October 1928 – 1 April 1986) was a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, artistic director, actor, and author.

Photo of Giancarlo Esposito

5. Giancarlo Esposito (1958 - )

With an HPI of 58.48, Giancarlo Esposito is the 5th most famous Danish Actor.  His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (Italian: [dʒaŋˈkarlo dʒuˈzɛppe alesˈsandro eˈspɔːzito]; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad, from 2009 to 2013, as well as in its prequel series Better Call Saul, from 2017 to 2022. For this role, he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2012) and earned three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. His other television roles include Federal Agent Mike Giardello in the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street (1998–1999), Sidney Glass / Magic Mirror in the ABC fantasy series Once Upon a Time (2011–2017), Tom Neville in the NBC series Revolution (2012–2014), Dr. Edward Ruskins in the Netflix series Dear White People (2017–2021), Stan Edgar in the Amazon series The Boys (2019–present) and The Boys Presents: Diabolical (2022–present), and Moff Gideon in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2019–present), the lattermost of which earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He also portrayed Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in the MGM+ series Godfather of Harlem (2019–present), acted in Westworld (2016), and played broken man Leo Pap in the hit Netflix TV series Kaleidoscope (2023). He is also known for his roles in several Spike Lee films, such as School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), and Malcolm X (1992). His other major films include Taps (1981), King of New York (1990), Bob Roberts (1990), Fresh (1994), The Usual Suspects (1995), Ali (2001), Monkeybone (2001), Last Holiday (2006), Rabbit Hole (2010), The Jungle Book (2016), Okja (2017), and Stargirl (2020).

Photo of Jesper Christensen

6. Jesper Christensen (1948 - )

With an HPI of 57.98, Jesper Christensen is the 6th most famous Danish Actor.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Jesper Christensen (Danish pronunciation: [ˈjespɐ ˈkʰʁestn̩sn̩]; born 16 May 1948) is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has more recently made the transition to English language projects, including The Interpreter and Revelations. He has also appeared as the mysterious villain Mr. White in the James Bond films Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Spectre. In his home country, Christensen has won four Bodil Awards, three for Best Actor: Did Somebody Laugh? (1978), The Bench (2000), and Manslaughter (2005), and one for Best Supporting Actor: Barbara (1997). In 2006, Jesper Christensen declined the offer to receive the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog. He said that he thought the entire idea of monarchy is a crime against the members of the royal family, and it does not fit with modern ideas.

Photo of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

7. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (1970 - )

With an HPI of 57.51, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is the 7th most famous Danish Actor.  His biography has been translated into 48 different languages.

Nikolaj William Coster-Waldau (Danish pronunciation: [ˈne̝koˌlɑjˀ ˈkʰʌstɐ ˈvæltɑw]; born 27 July 1970) is a Danish actor and producer. He graduated from the Danish National School of Performing Arts in Copenhagen in 1993, and had his breakthrough role in Denmark with the film Nightwatch (1994). He played Jaime Lannister in the HBO fantasy drama series Game of Thrones, for which he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Coster-Waldau has appeared in numerous films in his native Denmark and Scandinavia, including Headhunters (2011) and A Thousand Times Good Night (2013). In the U.S, his debut film role was in the war film Black Hawk Down (2001), playing Medal of Honor recipient Gary Gordon. He then played a detective in the short-lived Fox television series New Amsterdam (2008), and appeared in the 2009 Fox television film Virtuality, originally intended as a pilot. He is a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, drawing public attention to issues such as gender equality and climate change.

Photo of Connie Nielsen

8. Connie Nielsen (1965 - )

With an HPI of 56.85, Connie Nielsen is the 8th most famous Danish Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Connie Inge-Lise Nielsen (born 3 July 1965) is a Danish actress. She has starred as Lucilla in the film Gladiator (2000) and as Queen Hippolyta in the DC Extended Universe, beginning with Wonder Woman (2017). She has also starred in films such as Soldier (1998), Mission to Mars (2000), One Hour Photo (2002), Basic (2003), The Hunted (2003), The Ice Harvest (2005), Nymphomaniac (2013), 3 Days to Kill (2014), Inheritance (2020), and Nobody (2021).She also had roles as NYPD Detective Dani Beck, the temporary partner of Christopher Meloni's Elliot Stabler in the NBC crime drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2006), the Starz political drama series Boss (2011–2012), the Fox crime thriller series The Following (2014), the TNT limited drama series I Am the Night (2019) and starred in the Channel 4 drama series Close to Me in 2021.

Photo of Sidse Babett Knudsen

9. Sidse Babett Knudsen (1968 - )

With an HPI of 54.64, Sidse Babett Knudsen is the 9th most famous Danish Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Sidse Babett Knudsen (Danish pronunciation: [ˈsisə ˈpæpet ˈkʰnusn̩]; born 22 November 1968) is a Danish actress who works in theatre, television, and film. Knudsen made her screen debut in the 1997 improvisational comedy Let's Get Lost, for which she received both the Robert and Bodil awards for Best Actress. Following the critical success of her debut, Knudsen has been considered one of the top Danish actresses of her generation. In 2000, she again won both best actress awards for the comedy romance Den Eneste Ene (English title: The One and Only). In 2016, she won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film Courted (L'Hermine). Knudsen has also received award nominations for her roles in Monas Verden (Mona's World) and Efter brylluppet (After the Wedding). Knudsen achieved international recognition for her leading role as fictional Danish Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg in the Danish TV series Borgen, and for her role as Theresa Cullen in the HBO science fiction-Western television series Westworld.

Photo of Annette Stroyberg

10. Annette Stroyberg (1936 - 2005)

With an HPI of 54.58, Annette Stroyberg is the 10th most famous Danish Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Annette Susanne Strøyberg (7 December 1936 – 12 December 2005) was a Danish actress. Her films included Les Liaisons dangereuses (1959), which was directed by her first husband, Roger Vadim.

Pantheon has 43 people classified as actors born between 1812 and 1994. Of these 43, 29 (67.44%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living actors include Mads Mikkelsen, Giancarlo Esposito, and Jesper Christensen. The most famous deceased actors include Anna Karina, Asta Nielsen, and Erik Bruhn. As of April 2022, 10 new actors have been added to Pantheon including Annette Stroyberg, Thomas Bo Larsen, and Ole Ernst.

Living Actors

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Deceased Actors

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Newly Added Actors (2022)

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Which Actors were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 14 most globally memorable Actors since 1700.